Crew SC | Santos flashing specialist skills

Monday

Sep 11, 2017 at 10:00 PMSep 11, 2017 at 10:00 PM

Adam Jardy The Columbus Dispatch @AdamJardy

There is a highlight film of Pedro Santos with more than 11,000 views on YouTube. The three-minute-long video opens with a shot of the midfielder burying a free kick into the back of the net while playing for SC Braga in Portugal.

Sunday afternoon at Mapfre Stadium, the latest Crew SC designated player sent in a powerful corner kick that was headed home by Ola Kamara for a goal in a 1-1 tie against Sporting Kansas City.

Both are examples of how the midseason acquisition gives coach Gregg Berhalter a dangerous specialist.

“It’s important in the game because if we do well in the set pieces, we can score many goals,” Santos said. “We train every week (for them). It’s important for us to score goals on set pieces because when we have difficult games we can (still) score goals on set pieces.”

That was the case Sunday afternoon against the stingiest defense in the league. Although the Crew generated a handful of offensive chances, its highlight of the day was the service and finish on its goal.

Kamara said Santos' talent was evident as soon as he began training with the team.

“He has a nice quality with how he hits it with his left foot, the curl on it, the spin on the ball, how hard it is,” Kamara said. “I could see right away that it was quality.”

Since joining the Crew in 2012, designated player Federico Higuain has led the team in corner kicks each season, and he has taken more than any other player in team history.

The addition of Santos doesn’t likely mean an end to Higuain standing over the ball in dead-ball situations. Saturday, Santos took three corners and Higuain took two, one game after Higuain’s curving free kick led to Jonathan Mensah scoring the winning goal on a diving header against FC Dallas.

It does mean that Berhalter has options — both serve a different type of ball. For players trying to get on the end of their service, such as Kamara, it comes down to timing.

“The ball that (Higuain) did against Dallas, it’s a different ball because it’s higher and it dips, and it’s harder for the goalie to come out to,” Kamara said. “Pedro, he hits it differently, a little bit harder, sometimes a little bit lower so then maybe you have to watch it in training where it ends up and what kind of speed you have to come up to (in order) to reach your spot.”

Santos said the players had been working on their movements for moments like Saturday’s corner kick, which gave him his second assist in four games for the Crew. Monday, Kamara said he got away from his marker and “gambled” to get into that space, where he headed it home for his 100th career goal.

“We need to know where I can put the ball,” Santos said. “I think everybody knows where the ball will go, because we scored a goal.”